BJ’s tries prepayment for dine-in orders

BJ’s Restaurants is testing an app that will enable customers to pay before their arrival for a dine-in meal, which they can also schedule to be ready for them at a particular time.

The capabilities are intended to cut wait times and boost throughput. “We also look forward to seeing if we can increase dine-in traffic and shorten guest dining duration if they so choose,” Greg Trojan, CEO of BJ’s, said in a statement.

Although a number of restaurant chains already offer users of their app the option of prepaying for takeout or delivered meals, pay-ahead capabilities are still rare for dine-in service. However, the supplier of the app to be tested by BJ’s, Allset, says its preordering capabilities are already being tried by Buffalo Wild Wings and Bareburger, among others.

The company’s announcement indicates that the test will be conducted in seven BJ’s casual-dining restaurants, all in the Los Angeles and Austin, Texas, markets.

Customers who try the service will have $15 taken off their bills through Jan. 31.